Jim Leonhard leaving Wisconsin; will Packers show interest again?

It turns out that Jim Leonhard will not be remaining at Wisconsin beyond the 2022 bowl season after being passed over for the head coach role in favor of Luke Fickell. So this latest news once again brings up the question, will the Green Bay Packers show interest in Leonhard as their defensive coordinator?

Matt LaFleur has been fairly adamant that he isn’t going to make any changes at defensive coordinator at this time, but one has to think that once the season is over, the Packers will move on from Joe Barry. In short, Barry has been slow to adjust, many of the same issues that plagued the Packers early on are still causing problems, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a defender who is playing above expectations this season.

While not all of the issues fall squarely on Barry, at the end of the day, he is the one in charge. When expectations are as high as they were for this Green Bay defense, and they’ve instead completely underwhelmed, a change at defensive coordinator seems like a must.

Will the Green Bay Packers show interest in Jim Leonhard for their defensive coordinator role once again?

As we all remember, Leonhard was a part of the Packers’ previous search for a defensive coordinator and was reportedly offered the job by LaFleur but turned it down to remain at Wisconsin. During his time with the Badgers, Leonhard consistently had one of the top defenses in the country, ranking top-five in total defense in four of the previous six seasons.

Although there are certainly differences between college football and the NFL, Leonhard’s scheme at Wisconsin, if carried over to the Packers, would be a breath of fresh air. Leonhard utilizes a 3-4 defense, but he is adaptable and is willing to play a variety of fronts depending on what the defense is doing. He also has a lot of movement pre-snap by the front seven to help muddy things up for the quarterback and will use stunts and blitzes often, as he’s not afraid to leave his cornerbacks in man coverage. Leonhard built an aggressive and physical defense at Wisconsin.

It’s not only the Packers, however, who could potentially show interest in Leonhard. One would think that around college football, he will have several high-profile teams pursuing him, given his track record as a defensive coordinator along with his ability as a recruiter–his players clearly loved playing for him.

There is a lot more stability that can come with a defensive coordinator position at a top program than in Green Bay, where this will likely be the third defensive coordinator under LaFleur while the team is also on their third special teams coordinator at the moment. Another uphill battle that the Packers might be facing is that right now is hiring season in college football while Green Bay won’t legitimately begin their search — again, assuming they move on from Barry — for another month at least.

As I wrote recently, while yes, this is the Green Bay Packers we are talking about, how enticing is the defensive coordinator role at the moment?

All of this is, of course, speculation and could become a moot point quickly. Maybe Leonhard still isn’t interested in the job. Or perhaps he lands a new one before the Packers’ season comes to an end. But if LaFleur and Green Bay were at the point of hiring Leonhard just two years ago, I imagine he is going to be on their radar once again.